This Week In Comedy Open Thread

Wow, what a week! DID YOU CRY? Press 1 if you cried. R U pressing 1? I’m going to be less hard on you if you cried than I expected to be because I’m going to admit that I almost cried, but then I also almost cried during a Subaru commercial where a little girl was going to school for the first time and looked nervous and I was actually much closer during that one, so I’m not sure that I’m an appropriate yardstick. I thought 30 Rock‘s final two episodes were enjoyable and very well done. (I hope you did not play along with our drinking game.) Kenneth’s “TV No-No Words” were a very funny final shot at NBC. Liz’s honest goodbye to Tracy was great. There was a nice balance of sweetness and sadness and humor, and it made me feel like I will actually miss the show! Which sounds like a dig, but I don’t mean it as one, except I guess I kind of do because if the show had ended last season I don’t think I would be thinking the same thing! Overall, and I believe this is generally recognized as truth with you guys as well, I think the final season was a strong one, and I’m happy we got to enjoy it together. PLZ leave your memorial GIFs in the comments. Moving on to shows that are not doing so great in their final seasons: WHAT IS GOING ON WITH JIM? His being a thoughtless, asshole slob all of a sudden and the boom-op being so handsome and in love with Pam seems incredibly, transparently forced. “We need to have a strong Jim and Pam end, but we’ve made their characters and relationship too stable to do anything drastic. Sooo ahhh uuhhh, I guess we can just act like we haven’t?” It’s a bad move to completely alter the personality of one of the main characters in the final season, especially if you’re moving him from most reasonable and likable to most out of touch and worst, and I really can’t see it paying off in the end. YOU’RE RUUUINING IT! JUST MARRY THE BOOM OP, PAM! I CAN’T SPEAK FOR HIS CAREER CHOICES, BUT I CAN SPEAK FOR HIS FACE! (Erin continues to be wonderful.) Oh, so, speaking of “you’re ruining it” (all of these segues are very smooth, I am really getting the hang of this week in comedy post), DO YOU THINK NEW GIRL IS RUINED NOW?! AHHHHH NOOOOO KISSSSSS! (Let’s take a jump! OFF OF A CLIFF!)

I think it’s fine, actually! TRICK’D YA. New Girl has been building Nick and Jess’s relationship for its entire life, and this season especially has spent a lot of time showing how much they care about each other. If they hadn’t gotten together soon it would have felt a bit dishonest — like they were holding onto the tension only for tension’s sake. So. NEW GIRL CONTINUES TO BE TELEVISION’S MOST PERFECT SITCOM! What else. I didn’t watch The Mindy Project this week but I do know that B.J. Novak was on it and I am sure that it was garbage, not that one of those things has to do with the other. There are currently two episodes of Girls available to watch on HBO GO and obviously I watched both of them back-to-back and not-so-obviously (based on how this season has been going so far) I really did not like either of them very much. (Though I did like the second, more Jessa-focused episode much more than the first. But I won’t talk about it.) “Jazzhate” was an oddly lazy, commentary-free excuse for an I GUESS Vice parody, and it paired well with the oddly lazy, commentary-free portrayal of Hannah’s relationship to both the blog and what she had been assigned to write for them. I guess we’re supposed to think Jazzhate is stupid because of the stupid shit they have on the wall of their lobby, but what does Hannah think? Nothing? She seemed more than fine with the assignment (and Girls itself seemed more than fine portraying cocaine as a harmless blast, the only downfall of which is that maybe you’ll find out a secret you’d rather not know), and I get that she is still FIGURING IT OUT or whatever, but it doesn’t seem like something her character would have let go on without comment. Also: Marnie’s relationship with that asshole — Is she supposed to know that he is bullshit and not care or is she not supposed to know and have fallen under his torture-art spell? We got a sense of each of those possibilities (falling into his arms and telling him he’s brilliant, laughing when he tells her to look at the doll), and it only served to add to the overall murkiness of the episode. It seemed like it had no idea about what it wanted to say about anything. BUT I GUESS THAT’S JUST BEING IN YOUR 20S! #GENIUS. Bob’s Burgers was wonderful. Gene as Little Bob was wonderful. Tina as a news reporter was wonderful. “Ghost Bouncers” on Kroll Show was very, very good. NOW YOU TALK!

You guys, I don’t have cable or watch any of the shows being discussed regularly (sometimes I watch 30 Rock on hulu) BUT:

I had a dream with Gabe and Kelly and Mary in it. In the dream, I woke up really late for work and decided not to go, so the videogum staff came over and we watched movies instead. Then someone from Martha Stewart’s magazine came over and demanded I deliver her manuscript back to Random House (where I work), so I had to go to work but the line for the bathroom was so long that I was SUPER late and stressed about it. Also I lived in a really big mansion or something?

Videogum has been introjected into my unconscious fantasies. Das fucked up yo.

30 Rock was great! It was a great send-off, even if they didn’t bring back Jon Hamm!

As for The Office, afterwards I was like “Oh no, what if Pam cheats on Jim?!?” and Mr. Truck was like “Who cares? They didn’t even give this guy any character development they just introduced him and also he loves Pam and now he’s gone. Who cares?” It was hilarious because he’s right.

Also, I finally caught up on Girls. Do you guys think that Donald Glover’s big speech about how she just wants to be with him because he’s black is about the fact that Donald Glover was only added because of the race criticism of the show? I couldn’t tell if that was self-aware or oblivious.

Also, New Girl is great! True American is the greatest drinking game ever! Of course the kiss was great and very sexy and I’m sure the show will be great if they get together, but more likely I think they’ll just act like it was just a thing and their sexual tension will continue to be part of the subtext.

A very solid ending to the series. Not mind-blowing, but a nice way to wrap things up after 7 years. I was a little disappointed with the way Jack’s character ended (50 minutes of soul searching, then “Holy shit! Invisible Dishwashers!), but otherwise I was pleased.

Question: Why did that seen with Conan look like it was shot on 5 different green screens? Is he THAT banned from NBC?

I got weak in my knees when Nick kissed Jess. I felt that kiss.
I am LOVING Workaholics – why aren’t we talking about that?
Nick Kroll’s show is the best too. PubLIZity is my favorite.
The Office is weird. Why is Jim acting like this? But whatever I’ll take the boom mic guy.

30 Rock was sad. Here’s a pic my friend, who was a writer for the show’s first 6 seasons, posted on his fb page that you guys may enjoy. RIP 30 Rock!!!

The cocaine episode of Girls was pretty dumb. It seemed like it was building to a point where it was going to get dark and things were going to turn to shit for Hannah like they should have, but nope, just a really bullshitty ending where she hooks up with the junkie? I feel like that’s Lena Dunham’s go to way to end a scene whenever she is stuck, just have the characters start making out and/or fucking. If Girls wasn’t so much fun to hate, I would have given up long ago.

I was kind of bummed that they went the “fake suicide” route with Jack’s character… I don’t know. I liked most of the episode, but when that was introduced, I got really disappointed. Leading someone to believe you are going to commit suicide is just not funny a funny concept. No matter if it’s Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin and it’s my favorite show in the world.

Cougar Town was much better this week! It was nice to see Bobby and Ellie team up, partially because they’re my two favorites and also because usually their interactions are limited to Ellie being mean to Bobby/saying mean things about Bobby.

I mostly really liked the episode but the Tom stuff bugged me. I don’t know if I’m alone here, but I really wish they would get rid of Tom. In the first couple of seasons he was an amusing weirdo but the more they bring him into the group, the creepier he is and I just don’t like it! How could they let him into the group knowing that he sneaks into Jules’s house while she’s sleeping and climbs into bed with her? WTF? Bring back Barb instead!

I didn’t watch the 30 Rock finale because I had night class at the exact same time. Stupid nighttime classes! Why Thursdays?! BLARGH! However I will watch it tonight and drink my sorrows away with the Flemish ale I forgot to use for the specific purpose of drinking away my back-to-school sorrows last week.

It won’t be easy trying to go on any website and not hear about 30 Rock today.

I cried at 30 Rock too. I got sad when Jenna lost her mirror and realized it was finally ending, when Lutz was picking fights so he didn’t have to say goodbye (that when the crying started officially), Jack’s weirdness, Tracy’s honestly sad reason to not want the show to end and SO MUCH at Kenneth’s final St. Elsewhere ending with Liz Lemon Jr. or Liz II because, think about it… Liz was so damn loved by her daughter and granddaughter that they named her great granddaughter after her! And she got to spend enough time with that great-granddaughter to tell her the plot of 7 seasons of 30 Rock… and those stories will get recycled by Kenneth in New New York!! That’s really really sweet. I was also laughing. Laugh-crying really should be a German word.

Loved Jenna’s Rural Juror song. That is one of my favorite episodes from the first season. The finale was pretty much exactly what I wanted. I am going to miss the hell out of 30 Rock, but I am excited for Community to come back! I hope it will be good! I hope Jim Rash wears amazing outfits and makes as many dean puns as possible because he is the best. Bob’s Burgers was great. I would like to see more of Gene as mini-Bob. RuPaul’s Drag Race was amazing as always. The Office was weird like last week, but I was happy to see Eric Wareheim, even though it was very briefly. Do not understand where they are going with the Pam/ handsome Brian storyline. They did not show enough of his handsome face this week.

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